§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the current theoretical projections used as target figures for the total numbers of acute beds for(a) orthopaedic surgery, (b) general surgery and (c) general medicine (i) for each Scottish health board and (ii) in total for Scotland for 2001.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 26 November 1992]: Projected bed requirements for all surgical and medical specialties are decided by individual health boards and there is no agreed formula for calculating them. Health boards take account of local needs and priorities when formulating their planning assumptions. The total estimated requirement for Scotland in these specialties in 2001, allowing for potential increases in the use of day surgery and other developments in medical practices, is set out in the table.
Number Orthopaedic surgery 2,000 General surgery 2,500 General medicine 4,000